The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

It is quite possible that thousands of years from now, forensic cultural criticism will determine that motivational speaking and inspirational books acted upon our minds in much the same way as lead poisoning acted upon the minds of the citizens of the latter Roman Empire. First, it killed brain cells; then it killed a civilization. Now Dave (that's what he wants to be called) would take issue with this and claim that he's just offering some simple, hard-won, home-spun talk about God, honesty, and the spiritual nourishment of fast food. It's not that Dave's advice is stupid (though it is simple), and it's not that Dave's a bad guy (lotta talk about charity). It's that Dave is selling hamburgers. Now that's okay (unless you're a cow), but a cash-register makes a poor pulpit.

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